


Warm

by withinthelines



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Action & Romance, Belly Kink, Belly Rubs, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Stomach Ache
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-03 17:05:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8721772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withinthelines/pseuds/withinthelines
Summary: Kougami hasn't been feeling well lately and Akane just wants to make him better...if only everything else would stop getting in the way. Some semblance of a story, but mostly fluff and belly rubs. Mostly just Akane/Kougami, probably a little bit of twisted Makishima/Kougami later on.





	1. Confession

Working at MWPSB headquarters was still strange to her sometimes. Akane thought she would have shaken the feeling by now, but it persisted regardless, and really, there was only one place in the entire building that didn't make her feel that way.

She had been visiting him for a while now, usually after the conclusion of a mission or in the evenings. For whatever reason, she felt more at home on his couch than she did in her own apartment...somehow, it had become the place that she defaulted to when there was something on her mind or just unwind from the day. Oftentimes, it was just to talk a little, about missions, about books, about anything, really...though granted, she usually did more of the talking than he did. And then, when he got tired, he'd let her lay her head on his chest or stomach to read while he sprawled out over the sofa to smoke and nap. 

The lights appeared to be off at first, but door was open, the scent of tobacco prominent in the air.

"Kougami?"

The room wasn't completely dark, she realized as she stood in the doorway. She could just make out the scattered contents of an unkempt desk against the far wall, illuminating the papers, documents, ash trays, and the coffee rings staining the surface underneath. 

Kougami himself had his back to her, his arm wrapped idly around his waist as he contemplated the wall behind his cluttered desk. The smoky haze in the room told Akane that he'd already been through a few cigarettes, which meant there was something troubling him. Not that it was uncommon to find him pouring over the bulletin board, but usually when it was time for her to come and visit him, he'd settled down enough to not be obsessing over it.

Grrwwourrrggrrrlpp.

The sound yanked Akane from her thoughts, startling her, and at first she didn't know where it had come from...a moment later, however, Kougami leaned forward slightly, still holding his stomach with one arm. He expelled a sharp breath, and then straightened again a few moments later, sighing heavily and writing another note on his wall beside one of the newest photos he'd pinned there. 

Akane opened her mouth uncertainly, but she heard his stomach again before she could say anything...biting her lip, she moved forward, setting a hand gently against his broad back as he hunched forward.

“Kougami...”

He whirled around with fire in his eyes, but Akane was undeterred by his stormy expression, more concerned by how pale his face was as he glared down at her. A moment later, recognition dawned on his features, another sigh escaping him as his expression cleared slightly.

“...Inspector,” he returned, though the title had become more of a nickname at this point, slipping his hands into his pockets as he leaned against the side of his desk. “What brings you here?”

Akane hesitated, her eyes dropping for just a moment to his middle, where his shirt was still crumpled from where he'd been gripping it. 

“I just wanted to read a little,” she admitted. “I didn't realize you were still working.”

He took a heavy drag of his cigarette and exhaled.

“Don't worry about it. You left your book on the coffee table, by the way.” 

“Thanks,” Akane returned. “I'm gonna come back when you're wrapped up here...I don't want to interrupt.”

He rubbed the back of his neck and offered a brief nod, finishing off his cigarette and then pressing it into the ash tray on his desk.

“You sure?”

Akane nodded, but then hesitated again nonetheless. 

“Kougami...are you sick?”

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked down at her with a stern expression...she wondered if she'd made him angry. “I'm fine. What makes you say that?”

“Well...” Akane folded her arms and looked off to one side. “You're just a little pale, is all. And you were practically doubled over just now...”

She trailed off, silence falling between them as they stood facing each other...a quiet growl issued from Kougami's stomach, and Akane wondered if she should also point out that he was still slumped against his desk.

“Sit down?” she tried.

“I told you, I'm fine.”

Akane moved to his side as he leaned forward even as he spoke...his stomach gave him away by letting out another beastly noise. He sighed in resignation and pushed himself toward the couch, slumping onto it and holding his gut. Akane sat down slowly on the coffee table in front of him, setting her hands on his knees as he groaned.

“Shh.” She rubbed her thumb over his knee a little. “Your stomach's not feeling so well, huh?”

Kougami expelled a long breath in discontent and let his head drop back against the couch. “Not so much...”

He closed his eyes and ran his hands down his face, his shirt falling open again at the bottom just above his navel. Akane smiled and reached out toward him, then paused as she saw him visibly tense, always on edge.

Gently, she touched his stomach, keenly aware that he was statue-like as she did so, his eyes watching her unflinchingly. The material of his shirt was thin as she moved one hand up and down the surface of it, hesitating for just a moment as she did so. Her fingertips grasped the edge of his shirt right beside it briefly, lingering, but then released the material, touching his stomach again near the dip in his bellybutton.

She heard Kougami's breath hitch sharply, his eyes opening and the muscles in his sotmach twitching for a moment, but she stroked the length of it again, very lightly, hardly daring to touch him at all. 

“...I'm sorry,” she murmured absently, her gaze unfaltering on his middle. “As I was saying...um...”

She moved her hand slightly, daring to stroke his navel just once...immediately, she heard his breath hitch again, a large hand covering the area protectively a moment later, but it did little to deter her. Gently, she wrapped her hand around one of his fingers and pulled his hand away, a slight tremor in the other as she rubbed his stomach again, gently, then repetitively, unmindful of the slow rise and fall as he breathed. He made no further attempts to retaliate, and so she released his hand, placing her other palm flat against his belly to keep him from fidgeting as she continued to run her hand up and down the length of his stomach.

“Akane...”

The mention of her name was enough for her to realize how close they were, her breath playing across the vulnerable area of his midsection. He let her lean forward, and she left a chaste kiss against his diaphragm...then another, and another, smiling slightly against his skin as she heard a noise escape him. 

“I'm sorry you're sick,” she murmured.

Kougami didn't respond, remaining quietly where he sat with his arms across the back of the old sofa and staying still for her. Akane held both sides of his stomach gently beneath his shirt to soothe him, hearing a quiet groan escape him every so often but continuing regardless. Then, without warning, another sound suddenly forced its way from his belly..with her hands against him, Akane realized how badly his entire middle spasmed each time the noise escaped him. 

“Shit...” He let his head drop back and closed his eyes again, resting his hand over them.

“Kougami, are you okay?”

“My stomach's killing me...”

Akane reached out from the coffee table to hold his stomach with both hands, stroking the broad surface softly with her thumb until the spasm subsided. She'd never seen him sick, really...injured, yes, but not sick. She rubbed his diaphragm a little as another stomach rumble wracked his body, tracing her fingertips down the side. Her fingernails dug into him a little as she did so, wishing she could make it stop.

He didn't open his eyes, however, nor did he try to stop her...abruptly, however both their pagers went off, and Akane's heart sank as she checked hers. “No...not now...”

“Looks like Gino needs us.” Grimacing, Kougami slowly began to sit up, leaning into Akane's hands as she placed them hastily on his shoulders to push him back.

“You can't,” she said immediately. “Just stay here, I'll cover for you.”

“Nope.” He leaned forward over his midsection, placing his hands on his knees as though to push himself up. “You know the drill for Enforcers.”

“But...” Akane snatched up one of his large hands before he could protest and pressed it to his belly, flushing slightly at the way it sank in a little as she did so. A moment later, they both felt the area seize up again.

“Mnh.”

“You're in no condition to be going anywhere,” Akane continued as he closed his eyes in discomfort. “Besides, your, um...your belly's been really loud lately. It's even worse now...they'll know.”

“Nhhh...loud, huh? Says who?” Kougami murmured absently, rubbing his stomach. 

“I've...I've just...noticed. Nothing as bad as tonight, though.”

Hesitantly, she reached out as she recalled such incidents, placing her hand next to Kougami's and dropping her gaze. He watched her for a few moments, then covered her hand with his own and shifting it over a little to the side of his stomach. Almost immediately, she felt a faint tremor run through the area, reminiscent of the soft gurgles and groans she had often heard issuing from his midsection as of late. Her face colored slightly.

“Y...yeah. Like that.” She peered up at him. “...So then...you've had an upset tummy for a while, huh?”

“It's not so bad. Just a little finicky lately.”

Their pagers went off again, and Kougami's expression strained for a moment as he placed his hands on his knees, pushing himself to his feet and wavering slightly.

“Kougami!”

“I told you, I'll be okay,” he returned, slipping his hands into his pockets as Akane stood up to face him as well, letting her grip the front of his crumpled shirt over his stomach for a moment. “Let's just get through Gino's speech, okay?”

Akane looked troubled, but gave an unwilling nod, avoiding his gaze and keeping her eyes on his torso instead.

“...Okay,” she relented finally, running her hand briefly down the front of his shirt, moving to fasten it at the bottom. “I guess you're right.”

He set a hand briefly on her shoulder before finally pulling away, leading the way out into the rest of the PSB headquarters and toward the briefing room.

 

Ginoza looked up in mild annoyance as both his fellow Inspector and Kougami entered the briefing room together...they were only a minute or so late, but by Ginoza's standards, late was late, and he did not approve.

“Now that we can finally get started,” he sniped as Kougami sank down into a seat beside Masaoka and Akane alongside him. “We believe we've narrowed down Makishima's location this time, but as always, he's a step ahead. A covert operation is likely impossible, as he's surrounded himself with protection from the guerilla group he's been providing that new technology to...”

He continued his briefing, much to the discontent of most of the people in the room, reviewing each aspect of the mission they were expected to embark upon the next day. It wasn't an overly complicated one, but they did need to be thorough, and as always, Ginoza was not one to leave any stones unturned.

Grrgrgrrgrghh...gllrrrrrrrrrrrgh...

Masaoka glanced over, then leaned slowly toward Kougami, talking from behind his hand so Ginoza wouldn't hear him.

“Hey...Ko!” He hissed at the younger Enforcer. “Was that your stomach?” 

“No.” 

Akane glanced up at Kougami worriedly, but he was staring stubbornly at Ginoza, his hands set firmly on the armrests of his chair and his expression stoic. As Masaoka turned away again, she reached over carefully under the table as though to straighten the bottom of Kougami's tie, but her knuckles grazed his stomach briefly as she did so in way of asking him how he was doing.

“A new training program has been formalized, so I expect it to be utilized by each agent before the beginning of our next mission...” Ginoza continued, going over the mission some more as he handed out files for them all to look at.

Kougami kept his stomach ache to himself throughout the rest of the meeting, though Akane could tell by the way he sat a little too rigidly in his chair without moving that he was trying very hard not to show any emotion. When at last they were dismissed, a collective sigh of relief went around the room and everyone began to get to their feet.

“Akane, Kougami.” Ginoza's stern gaze was upon them as he approached and the others began to file out of the room. “Mission begins first thing tomorrow, so you'll need to run through the training program today. Masaoka and Kagari have already completed it, so they'll be your sparring partners.”

Akane opened her mouth uncertainly, partially out of skepticism for her own ability to complete a rigorous training program and partially out of concern for Kougami, whom she didn't think needed to be doing much in the way of physical activity at the moment.

“Sir-,”

“No excuses,” Ginoza interrupted. “Off you go. Don't waste company time.”


	2. Endurance

Standing off to the side while Kagari and Masaoka trained, Akane fervently took notes on everything they were doing so that she might be more prepared later when it was her turn...she didn't feel she was up to par with the others, physically, and for someone who was used to receiving such high marks in all other areas, it bothered her.

She looked up from notepad as she heard Kougami enter the training arena...he'd changed into a form-fitting black shirt and grey sweats and looked to be in just as bad a mood as ever.

_That shirt...is he a little softer around the middle than I remember?_

Before, the outline of his abdominals through the material of his clothing was always fairly obvious, but it had been a while since she'd seen him in the outfit, and despite the fact that he was still fairly in shape, she thought he looked...softer there.

He glanced briefly at Akane, shaking his head in mild amusement as he saw her – unsurprisingly – with notepad in hand, then moved away toward Masaoka and Kagari.

“Let's get this over with already.”

Kagari looked around at him and grinned, waving. “Hey Ko! You ready to get started?”

Kougami brought his hands up to fight, glaring at the younger man, who paled a little under his withering stare. He didn't usually have much luck when it came to sparring with Kougami, losing to the other Enforcer more often than not, but at least it was two on one this time around.

“Go!”

Kougami darted out of the way as Kagari lunged at him, striking his elbow into the redhead's back and then switching his focus to Masaoks just as the older man swung a fist around at him, blocking the blow and then jumping over Kagari's leg as he tried to sweep it across to trip him up. Masaoka darted around to come at his target from the other side, but Kougami grabbed Kagari by the front of his shirt and yanked him up to use as a human shield, giving him a shove toward Masaoka and sending them both tumbling backwards for a moment.

Kagari huffed, always one to get heated during training, and ran at Kougami again, his skinny arms barely able to hold up against Kougami's far stronger ones as the other Enforcer struck out at him. As they fought, Masaoka ran around to tackle Kougami from the side, but the man managed to break free from Kagari in time to dart out the way and attack instead.

Masaoka smirked, moving toward Kougami again and grabbing his arm, managing to wrench it around to his back long enough for Kagari to get back on his feet...seeing an opportunity, the younger Enforcer grinned triumphantly and swung his fist around into Kougami's stomach.

“ _OOF!_ ”

Barely managing to shove Masaoka off him, Kougami doubled over with his hands pressed to his stomach, gritting his teeth for a moment. “Ngh...”

Kagari just looked shocked that he'd managed to get a good hit in against Kougami, a giddy grin passing over his features with newfound confidence as he hurried toward his coworker again.

Still leaning forward, Kougami spotted Kagari heading for him from the corner of his eye and brought one hand off his stomach to block the hit, though he took a couple of steps backwards in the process as he tried to keep his balance from the impact of the strike. He blocked a few more of Kagari's attacks one-handed, keeping the other on his gut, but eventually he had to remove it to block Masaoka as the older man went for him at the same time. As soon as he did, Kagari took advantage of it and went for the same target, attacking Kougami's belly before the other man could retaliate.

“NGH!”

“Kagari!” Akane blurted out scoldingly before she could stop herself, but the redhead only grinned at her.

“Don't sweat it, Inspector, we're just training,” he laughed, oblivious as Kougami wrapped his arms around his stomach behind him.

“But-,”

“Incoming!” Masaoka warned, and Kougami managed to duck out of the way right before the older man could attack him.

Kagari returned to the fray as well, though a swift kick from Kougami sent him flying not long after. Masaoka and Kougami continued to spar while the younger Enforcer lay on his back and groaned, taking a few moments to recover. But, he reasoned, at least he'd come up with a strategy that meant he didn't get his ass completely handed to him like he usually did, and he intended to stick with it.

Masaoka managed to grapple Kougami into a hold again even though the man refused to go down, and Kagari saw his chance, scrambling to his feet again. On his first approach, Kougami kicked him back again before he could reach him, but he managed to block the second strike long enough to get in close, punching Kougami in the stomach hard while Masaoka held him at bay. Kougami gritted his teeth, tilting his head back and taking it as best he could...he couldn't even double over with the way Masaoka was pinning him, couldn't do much of anything until Kagari got cocky and drew back to deliver a more powerful blow. It took everything in Kougami to block the attack with his leg, then throw Masaoka over his shoulder onto the training mat and stumble backwards.

_My gut...I can't take another hit like that..._

Hunched over, he held one hand to his aching belly and fixed a hazy glare on the other two Enforcers as they both ran at him...he managed to block a few more blows from both of them, but he couldn't keep it up for long. Kagari lunged, swinging his fist up deep into the middle of Kougami's soft belly, and the man dropped like a ton of bricks.

“Get 'im!”

Charging at the downed Enforcer, Kagari let his confidence get the best of him, and right before he reached Kougami, his opponent's foot came out to kick him square in the chest with enough force to send him flying across the mats.

“Time,” Masaoka declared as the two of them lay on the floor.

Sprawled on his back, Kougami glared up at him wearily in response, his face pale as he tried not to pant too much. Still reveling in what was probably his first win ever against the man, Kagari chuckled and got unsteadily to his feet, walking over and patting Kougami's unguarded stomach.

“Can't take it in the belly?” he teased before Kougami knocked his hand away. “Hey...”

“That's enough, Kagari...” Akane's tone was somewhat scolding behind the redhead as she approached.

“Okay, okay...” Still grinning, Kagari looked back down at Kougami. “Ready for Round 2?”

Masaoka, however, seemed to realize Kougami wasn't going to be getting up any time soon. “Hell, what's the rush? Better to take a break first,” he surmised, rolling his shoulders.

Kagari looked surprised, but unwilling to pass up on an opportunity to slack off. “Hey, I second that! Kougami, let's-,”

“Beat it,” Kougami muttered, not getting up off the floor.

Kagari chuckled again. “Sore loser. See ya in a few, Ko...Inspector Tsunemori...”

Akane knelt beside Kougami as the other two made their way out of the gym, settling her hand on his forehead, but as soon as the others were gone, Kougami immediately curled into a ball on his side, wrapping his arms tightly around his stomach and clenching his teeth.

“You have to call out sick,” Akane pleaded, leaning forward onto her hands and knees beside him. “Please, Kougami...you shouldn't be working. You shouldn't even be out of your room.”

“I'm not...calling out for...a stomach ache...”

“You can barely move...”

Kougami cracked one eye open to look up at her. “Kagari hits harder than you think.”

“He hit you over and over in your sick belly because it was the only way he could win, you should have told him you weren't feeling well,” Akane retaliated, petting his hair. “Let me see.”

“Akane,” Kougami growled, sounding very much like the hunting dog Ginoza often said he was as she tried to move him onto his back again.

Even so, he didn't fight back beyond that, slowly rolling over so she could fold his shirt back up to his ribs and look at his stomach. Suppressing a groan as she did so, he looked up at her wearily as her face tinted red for a moment.

“What's wrong?”

Akane set a hand over his abdomen. “It's just...”

They both looked up as the door to the gym beside the training center flew open...Shion spotted the two of them and gave an idle wave as she slung a towel around her shoulders, heading to the water cooler to get a drink after her own training session with Yayoi in the other room.

“Hey there, kiddos...did I come in at a bad time?” she mused, mostly to get a rise out of Akane.

It worked, and the Inspector's face turned bright red, hastily smoothing down her clothes and adjusting her hair unnecessarily.

“It's...um...it's not...like that at all...I just...Kougami's hurt, and-,”

“Akane!”

“Oh yeah? What's the damage, big guy?” Shion mused, ignoring Kougami's protest as she swaggered over to the pair of them. She arched an eyebrow.

“What?” Kougami growled.

Shion chuckled. “Did you put on a little weight, Ko?” she asked, grinning.

The statement was a bit of an exaggeration, but Akane had noticed as well a few moments ago...Kougami's stomach definitely wasn't as defined as it used to be, the surface mostly flat but softer than she remembered...not quite chubby, but not the rock-hard abdomen he once had.

Kougami's face heated slightly then as well, and he glared up at the smirking blonde from where he lay. “...I've just been a little off my game lately,” he growled, sucking in his gut on instinct. “I haven't gained any weight.”

“If you say so,” Shion returned, getting to one knee on Kougami's other side to look him over. “So what's the matter, huh? You're not lookin' so hot.”

“He was training with Masaoka and Kagari,” Akane volunteered, to save Shion the effort of trying to extract the information from Kougami when he was in such a foul mood. “His tummy's been hurting him anyway, he just won't admit it, and he took a lot of hits.”

Without realizing it, she moved her hand back to Kougami's stomach as she spoke, her thumb stroking the surface gently...Shion smirked knowingly but didn't say anything, knowing she would embarrass the Inspector again by pointing out her obvious concern for him.

“Bring him up to my lab and I'll give him a once-over,” Shion said briskly, patting Kougami's middle a couple of times. “Make sure they didn't cause any permanent damage.”

“It's just my stomach,” Kougami growled. “I'll be fine...”

“Says the guy layin' on the floor,” Shion shot back, getting to her feet and offering Akane a wave. “I'll be around.”

Akane looked at Kougami sternly as the blonde moved away toward the exit. “Your belly's already turning red from where you got hit, you're probably going to bruise,” she said. “Just let her make sure they didn't hurt anything too badly inside you since you already weren't feeling well before you started fighting, okay?”

Kougami fixed her with a long-suffering glare, but sighed nonetheless. “You're not giving me a choice?”

Akane smiled a little. “Not really. Come on, let's go.”

 

Kougami immediately regretted having agreed to let Shion take a look at him as soon as Akane got paged.

“I'm sorry,” she said to him as he fixed her with an exasperated look from the table he was lying on. “Ginoza wants to review a few more details from our last case with me.”

“Don't worry,” Shion mused, circling one finger slowly over Kougami's bare stomach and dipping a well-manicured nail briefly into his bellybutton. “I'll have him back to you all in one piece...more or less.”

“Akane,” Kougami growled, almost pleadingly, but the Inspector was already turning red as Shion touched his stomach, busying herself with her Holo device.

“I-I'm sorry...I have to go.”

Shion chuckled a little as Akane hurriedly excused herself from the room, looking flustered.

“Too much for her to handle, I guess,” she mused. “She thinks you have beautiful eyes, you know.”

“What?” Kougami muttered, glaring at the smirking blonde.

“It's true. I heard her say it.”

Feeling exposed, Kougami wrapped an arm around his midsection, wondering what he'd done to Akane to deserve having her abandon him in a lab with a sadist. “Stop messing with me...”

Shion grinned and pulled his arm away again. “I can't examine you if you keep doing that.”

Kougami scowled, then looked over sharply as Shion set his arm against the table he was on and clamped the thick metal restraint there around his wrist.

“Hey,” he growled. “What the hell's that for?”

“To keep you still, of course,” Shion responded, coaxing his remaining arm down so she could bind his the wrist on his other side as well.

“Is that really necessary?” he demanded, glaring at her and looking even more annoyed when she grinned playfully at him in return.

“You're in my lab. This is how I do things in my lab,” she returned.

Kougami tugged on the metal cuffs a little. “Knock it off, You're just doing this to screw with my head...”

Shion smiled. “Maybe a little,” she said, moving up to the table and patting his bare stomach, which rumbled audibly in response and caused Kougami to twist slightly in discomfort. Shion raised an eyebrow. “My, my...what a sick tummy we have here...”

Kougami gritted his teeth as she set her hands on his belly to examine him, pressing into the surface to check for any damage. He felt so weak...over the past month, his stomach had been starved through sleepless nights of research into Makishima's whereabouts, stuffed with poorly cooked food at Kagari's birthday celebration, ravaged by a belly bug he'd caught (probably from the poorly cooked food), hurt on violent missions with uncooperative criminals, and now beaten to hell in the training center...the only respite had been the few, brief moments of comfort Akane had provided him with when she'd found out, and now she was gone again...

Shion caught Kougami's eyes flit toward the door and shook her head. “You heard her, she's not coming back for a while...she knows she left you at my mercy and she knew what I was gonna do to you. Why do you think she's always so embarrassed around me? Nobody's coming to get you out of this, hon.”

“Nhgh..."

Shion glanced down at him. “Cold hands, I know,” she said as her icy fingers felt his belly. “What the hell have you been doing to yourself?”

Kougami sucked in his gut in attempt to avoid her invasive touches, trying unsuccessfully to pull one of his wrists free so he could shield his stomach, but doing so only made Shion press more deeply into his soft belly.

“I still think you've gained a little weight. Too sick to do any crunches lately, huh?”

“Ngh...”

Shion smirked as he twisted again from the pressure she was putting on his stomach, immediately trying to tense the muscles in his stomach to make it less palpable when she teased him...but his abdominals were shot to hell, so made little to no difference.

“Stop squirming, you'll only make me take longer.”

Kougami gritted his teeth, but stilled nonetheless, his hands curling into fists to combat the discomfort she was causing him. Satisfied, Shion resumed her duties, pressing delicately into his diaphragm, his sides just below his ribs...smirking as she reached his lower belly because she knew it would embarrass him.

“Is this just the swelling from the bruises, or is there a little bit of chub here?” she mused, long, manicured nails tickling the bottom of his stomach lightly.

“There's not,” Kougami growled, trying to suck his stomach in again. “Hey, knock it off!”

Annoyed, he glared up at her as she started to draw slow, seductive patterns across his lower belly just above his waistline with her nails...he knew she was doing it just to get a reaction out of him, but he couldn't help the goosebumps that such a light touch left behind, shivering slightly.

Shion flashed him a wink, trailing her fingernails slowly down from his stomach and around to his side, pinching teasingly at it to try and find enough there to form a love handle.

“I said knock it off!” Kougami snarled, pulling at the metal bar around one of his wrists again.

“Oh, settle down,” Shion dismissed, squeezing his side one more time before moving her hands back to finish checking his stomach. “Does this hurt?”

She pushed her fingertips slowly, deeply into the area just to the right of his diaphragm with both hands, moving her fingers in a slow circle.

“Nrgh...yeah. It does.”

“What about here?” She moved down and over to press into the middle of his belly.

“-Ah!” Kougami's lip curled a little, his eyes closing. “Yeah.”

Shion patted his tummy a couple of times and then sunk her fingers into his stomach again, trailing her fingertips lightly over the surface each time she moved to a new area. She smirked vaguely as Kougami writhed beneath her unrelenting hands pushing into his belly, eliciting another sick-sounding gurgle from it followed by a strained noise from the Enforcer.

“Hmm...” She pressed down into the middle of his belly again, hearing another rumble as her fingers sank in...moving her hand down, she did it again with the same result.

“Where does it hurt the most?”

“Wherever the...hell you press into me like that,” Kougami growled, holding back a grunt of discomfort and clenching his teeth. “Sh-shit...”

_Grrllpp. Grrgrgrgh. Grlrrlrorp._

“All right, you did that already,” he snarled as Shion continued examining into various parts of his stomach and making it gurgle.

“Hey, don't be mad at me,” she lectured, patting his stomach again. “The pain goes pretty deep inside, huh?”

Kougami let his head drop back again and closed his eyes for a moment, tensing slightly as Shion trailed a hand down his abdomen...she began to press her fingertips into the middle of his gut again, but she didn't relent when he began to squirm.

“How much does this hurt?” she murmured, her fingers sinking deep, deep into his belly...Kougami began to stir, squirming in discomfort, but he couldn't move his torso at all with Shion's hands pinning him there.

“N...o...stop......”

His belly was soft and palpable, allowing Shion to press into him more and more, her eyes watching him intently.

“O-oh...ahh...ahhh!”

Without letting go, Shion began to move up onto the table as well, straddling his waist to keep him from drawing his knees up, her fingers pressed into his belly past her knuckles when, finally, she met too much resistance, halfway to his spine.

“....G...get...off...me...” Kougami forced out vaguely. “...M...y...stomach...hurt...s...too....mu...ch....”

A gasp escaped him as she finally stopped pushing on his abdomen, which heaved in and out as he panted, but it was only for a moment before she ran her hands down the sides of his stomach, trailing her fingernails lightly along his skin as she did so.

“Heh...objectively, I can almost understand what cute little Inspector Tsunemori sees in you,” she mused as her hands trailed down his torso. “What a body, hm?”

Kougami glared up at her hazily, his stomach straining. “...Get...off me.....”

“Psh...if you're gonna be like that, I guess I don't _have_ to examine you,” Shion teased. “Maybe I should just play with you a little instead...”

“What?” Kougami jerked a little as she lay her hand on his stomach again, running her forefinger briefly down the dip in his navel. “Nrgh...”

“Your face is turning red,” Shion observed in sly amusement. “Are you a little sensitive there?”

“Enough...already,” Kougami retaliated, trying unsuccessfully to squirm away from her touch as she rubbed slyly at his bellybutton. “When are you gonna let me...out of these things?”

Shion smirked, purposefully rough with him as she sought to elicit a reaction, coaxing a sharp groan at last as a manicured nail pierced deep into his bellybutton.

“That's...enough...unh...”

“My lab,” Shion reminded him, her lips inches from his ear as she suddenly grabbed his middle, fingertips digging deep into his sick tummy. “I say when it's enough.”

“UNGH!”

Shion held his burning gaze as she groped at the vulnerable area, her grip frigid and unforgiving against his soft belly before focusing on his navel again. Kougami clenched his teeth as his bellybutton was attacked over and over, taking it without complaint through sheer stubbornness and the hope that if he didn't give her any satisfaction in his responses, it might be over soon. He watched grimly as Shion leaned down to plant insincere kisses over same spot again and again, leaving lip stains of deep red lipstick against his bellybutton, and then over the rest of his broad torso as she massaged his navel with a freezing fingertip.

“No...stop...”

Shion grinned down at the pale, sick Enforcer as she took her boredom out on his stomach, his movements growing weaker even as he continued trying to pull one of his wrists free. He still had enough in him to glare daggers at her, however, and she had to appreciate his spirit.

Shaking her head, she hurt his bellybutton a while longer before she finally let up to admire her handiwork. Everything around his navel was red and slightly bruised from the treatment by the time she was done with him...Kougami twisted as though trying to curl onto his side and move his hands over the area, though of course, he could do neither.

“Just...let me out of these things...my gut can't take any more of this...”

Akane might have known Shion would tease him, but Kougami doubted she had any idea that some of the marks he was going to end up with came from anything other than his spar with Kagari. The urge to wrap up into a ball again and relieve some of the discomfort in his belly was so strong that he very nearly managed to pull a hand free from Shion's confines, a thin sheen of sweat more evident on his forehead now than when he'd first come in.

“You're so impatient. I'm almost done.” She smirked down at him, finally relenting to put on her stethoscope. “I don't feel anything dangerous, at least, so let me just listen for a while...shut up for a minute, will ya?”

Kougami gritted his teeth and tried not to flinch as she pressed the device to his slightly swollen belly...it was ice-cold and unforgiving, the pressure beckoning another groan from deep in his gut as it spasmed against the metal device. He was too sick by then to try to move away from it, however, and his wrists grew slack in their confines as Shion continued listening and did as she pleased to his bare stomach. His whole gut ached, cold and sore, churning uncontrollably from where Kagari had punched him and throbbing from how he was being forced to lay out flat on the table, but that didn't stop Shion from digging her fingers into him, grabbing at the fleshier parts of his stomach to tease him, forcing the cold, hard stethoscope up against his soft belly to hear what was going on inside him...every so often, Kougami failed to hold back an agonized sound from between his clenched teeth, sweat clinging to his forehead as he twisted within his bindings. In his head, he heard Kagari's voice taunting him again.

_Can't take it in the belly?_

“Nrgh...”

Eventually, Shion got done examining him, giving his stomach a few firm pats as a reward that he was too exhausted to react to.

“There...that could've been worse, right?” she pointed out, winking at him and making sure he could see her hand move slowly back down toward his navel.

_No...not again..._

He arched his back, his stomach rolling in vain attempt to avoid her crimson nail as she trailed it gently from the top of his bellybutton to the bottom before she started to hurt him again, rubbing the painful red area more and more roughly until he couldn't take it anymore and let out a yell at long last.

Shion smiled, then reaching to release the metal bindings around his wrists. They were slightly bruised from how he'd been pulling against his confines, about as red as his bellybutton, which he slowly covered with his hands as he curled onto his side, his body shivering slightly from the cold steel he was lying on. “Nngh...”

“You're all done, hon,” Shion said, grinning as he moved to shakily rub the residual lipstick off his torso. “Just lay there for a few minutes to recover, hmm?”

Kougami shot her a tired glare from where he was doubled over on the table, both hands still clamped over his bellybutton in vain attempt to stop it from hurting so much. He didn't have it in him to get up right away, his stomach churning too much, but he rolled away from Shion to give her his back while he clutched his middle, wrapped in a ball on the cold table.

Akane found the first opportunity she could to excuse herself, having spent most of her time away concerned about Kougami's condition...she wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or not when she returned to the lab to find him still there, though he didn't so much as stir as she slipped through the door.

Shion glanced up, lighting a cigarette in greeting and setting her feet up on the console next to her.

“Welcome back,” she greeted.

“Thanks...” Akane glanced briefly over at Kougami, then back at Shion. “So is everything...okay?”

 Shion took a drag of her cigarette.

 "I don't know what he's been doing to himself lately, but he's in bad shape,” she said. “The tummy troubles come as no surprise, considering. He needs to start taking better care of himself.”

Akane looked fretful, but the blonde shook her head. “There's nothing life-threatening...he'll start feeling better if he just rests properly for a few days.”

Nodding her gratitude, Akane smiled a little as she approached the table, coming to a stop at Kougami's side as Shion excused herself from the lab.

“Kougami...are you okay?” she asked, stroking his hair back on one side and setting a hand on his pale forehead...he looked so tired.

“...My belly hurts,” the Enforcer responded quietly, his eyes closed.

Akane reached down to force her hand under his own so she could gently rub his stomach. “Shion's right, you need to rest.”

Suppressing a groan, Kougami pushed himself slowly into a sitting position, putting his head in his hand.

“I have to wrap a few more things up with Ginoza, but...I just wanted to...check on you.” She looked away. “I was kind of worried, I guess. I never really thought of you as getting sick.”

Kougami glanced over at her, but she didn't meet his gaze.

“Anyway...” She set her hand hesitantly on top of his larger one. “Head back and try to rest a little, okay? And...I'll visit you later.”

Kougami closed his eyes and let out a short sigh. "...Yeah. All right."

 

 


	3. Pursuit

Late nights at the PSB were commonplace, but three cups of coffee in, Akane was still falling asleep at her desk. They had all been working overtime recently to make a dent in the onslaught of paperwork that had been piling up, thanks in no small part to Makishima's antics. There were files that needed processing, cases that needed reviewing, research that need doing, and huge folders full of data that had to be taken care of. Akane found herself on the late shift with Ginoza and Yayoi, though for once, she had outlasted even Ginoza in order to finish up her work. It wasn't that she strove to be an overachiever just for the sake of it, but more often than not, it just happened. She wanted to get things done, and she didn't see why she shouldn't do everything she could to achieve that.

The rest of the building had long since grown quiet by the time she finally relented to shut down her console for the night. For a moment, she simply sat at her desk, her eyes slowly closing against her will...she very nearly fell asleep right there, but stirred after a moment and rose to pour out the dregs of her coffee mug.

In a stupor, she dragged her feet through the silent halls of the PSB...it was her intention to head to the on-call room to crash for the night. There were beds available there, and it was an easy place to grab a few hours of shut-eye for Inspectors who worked too late or otherwise needed a place to sleep that was closer than their own homes. It wouldn't be the first time Akane herself had taken advantage of the facility, and yet...

Her feet moved on their own, her mind too sleepy to really pay attention to where she was going...before she realized it, she was standing in front of a door that had somehow become more familiar than her own and shuffling past the threshold once it slid open.

Despite the late hour, Kougami was still awake, most of the way through a cigarette by the time Akane entered...he lowered the case file he had been pouring over in his free time (had she been any less comatose, Akane could have easily guessed who it belonged to) to see who was in his quarters and raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, Inspector...you okay?”

Akane looked around drowsily. _How did I end up here?_

“Um...yes,” she mumbled. “I was just...”

Kougami watched her from over the top of his notes, then let out a vague chuckle, a smile touching his features for a moment as he rose to his feet. The bruising and red marks on his body had mostly faded throughout the day, difficult to even make out in the low light...he draped a blanket over Akane, and she let her forehead drop like a dead weight against his chest as he stood in front of her.

“I got lost,” she murmured from somewhere around his torso. “I guess. I don't know. I'm...”

“You're not lost,” Kougami said, setting a warm hand on her shoulder. “What are you still doing here?”

“I was working, and...”

The Enforcer sighed, securing the blanket more firmly around her. “Go figure. Sounds like Gino's been rubbing off on you...”

He nudged her over to the couch as he spoke, adjusting the pillow he'd been leaning against and clearing various papers and folders onto the coffee table so she could lie down.

“Get some sleep. You're no good to anyone if your Hue gets cloudy.”

Akane shook her head vaguely as she settled onto the couch, the humor in his statement going straight over her head. “My Hue won't get cloudy...”

“Right.” After reaching down briefly to make sure the blanket reached her feet, Kougami straightened up. He was going to have to find somewhere else to sleep now...

He faltered slightly as Akane's hand shot out from beneath the cover to take hold of his wrist without warning, eying her warily for a moment or so. Lingering only for a moment, he again attempted to move further away, but it only served to tighten her grip.

Pausing for a few moments or so, Kougami gradually relented to sit down on the edge of the couch next to her, though it did little to convince her to let go...he rested his arm on his knee so she could continue clutching his wrist, looking down at her over his shoulder.

“You keep it so cold in here,” Akane murmured vaguely into the pillow she didn't remember resting her head on. “But you're always warm.”

Wrestling on and off with a low-grade fever for the past couple of weeks, Kougami fairly certain that was the reason why, closing his eyes as her thumb ran repetitively over his wrist.

“You should get some sleep, Tsunemori.”

He began to move again, but it only made Akane tighten her hold on him again, her arm wrapping across his waist in order to keep a good grip on his arm. Heaving a sigh of defeat, Kougami slid carefully underneath her so she could rest her head on his lap...the lone couch came standard for an Enforcer's quarters and wasn't meant for two people to sleep on, so he sat in the far corner while Akane stretched out across the length of it, leaning back to finish off his cigarette.

“You're so loud,” Akane murmured.

“I didn't say anything.”  
She chuckled vaguely. “No, your stomach's making noises again.”

“Sorry.”

“It's okay.” She pressed her nose against him briefly without opening her eyes. “Are you feeling any better?”

“A little.”

He faltered slightly as Akane's arms settled around his waist, evidently assuming him to be part of the pillow and pulling him toward her with a contented sigh. Kougami leaned over to toss the end of his cigarette in the ash tray and then looked down to survey the predicament he found himself in. All he could really do was cautiously ease himself further down onto the couch until he was horizontal next to Akane, trying not to displace her as he did so...there wasn't much room, but with the Inspector halfway draped over his body anyway, it was enough for both of them. Pulling his arm out from under her as her head settled half-consciously onto his chest, he readjusted the blanket around both of them and then took up his case files again to read.

“...Good night, Kougami-san...”

Kougami glanced down briefly from beneath the document he was looking over, but she was already asleep. “'Night, Inspector.”

 

Akane awoke embarrassed the next morning as her surroundings came into focus, along with the sudden sense that she had most certainly outstayed her welcome. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but then again, she hadn't really meant to wander into Kougami's room in the first place. She barely remembered the night before, having already been mostly asleep by the time she went to visit him, but it didn't take long for her to realize what must have happened.

_And I'm going to be late..._

Her wrist comm was buzzing softly to remind her of such, and she carefully lifted her head from Kougami's chest, a bright flush already coloring her features even as she blinked herself awake...she hated to think what the Enforcer she was sleeping on top of must have thought of her, but faltered abruptly as she looked down at him, her expression growing somber.

“...Kougami?”

The moment she sat up, he curled onto his side, but otherwise didn't respond...she reached out to lightly brush the hair from ashen features, placing a hand to his fever-stricken forehead in deep concern. Despite the fact that he was asleep, there were circles under his eyes and his jaw was tense, teeth clenched slightly from the chills that were running through him. Akane stroked the back of his neck gently, then reached down to silence his comm device around his limp wrist as it buzzed at him to wake up.

She sent a quick message to Ginoza to inform him that she would be there soon, then reached down to carefully lift Kougami's head from the arm of the couch so she could slip a pillow underneath it.

_You're supposed to be getting better..._

Her own wrist comm buzzed at her again impatiently, but she ignored it for the time being. She knew she had to get going, or she really would be late, but as soon as her shift was over she was going to insist that Kougami check himself into the PSB's medical facility. It was one thing to have Shion give him a quick once-over, but the man was clearly ill.

_Someone should have noticed sooner._

But it seemed that no one really noticed Enforcers unless they were doing something wrong, Akane had come to realize...and with a sinking feeling, she began to wonder if she was part of the problem. Had she become so accustomed to her role as an Inspector that she hadn't even realized how sick Kougami was getting?

She rubbed his stomach gently, relieved, at least, that it wasn't churning anymore, but his fever was far more pressing...she glanced down as her wrist comm buzzed again, then disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes. When she emerged, it was with a dampened washcloth, which she placed carefully over Kougami's forehead before stroking the back of his neck again and straightening up.

“Kougami-san...I really do have to go now,” she whispered. “I'll come right back after our shift, I promise. Just...feel better.”

 

Ginoza was decidedly less than thrilled to have Akane not only show up late, but do so without Kougami in her company.

“Well, that's one problem down,” he griped. “Where's the other one?”

“Mr. Ginoza...um...” Akane faltered, but then straightened and squared her shoulders as she addressed him. “I've deemed Mr. Kougami to be in no condition for active duty at this time, sir...requesting backup assistance from another Enforcer to cover his shift."

Ginoza's eyes narrowed. “Why? What's the matter with him?”

“He's...he's just not feeling well, sir,” Akane explained hesitantly, though she knew Kougami would be upset with her later for doing so, especially when they were so close to pinning down Makishima's position again. “This is an extremely important mission. Everyone present should...be at their best.”

Ginoza's steely gaze bore into her for a few moments, and she nearly faltered, second-guessing herself...but then he sighed and nodded.

“...Very well. We'll have Masaoka and Kagari accompany us instead.” He pushed his glasses up his nose. “Let's go. Everyone will need to be briefed with an update on the situation, and then we can begin prepping for the operation.'

 

The target was an abandoned series of warehouses on the outskirts of the division. Allegedly empty after years out of commission, but intelligence reports suggested that as of late, someone had been taking advantage of the dusty old factory technology inside and speccing it for their own specific needs. Based on the products that were being smuggled out the back doors and the clientele spotted around the area, all evidence pointed toward the warehouses serving as one of the cogs in Makishima's plans. The weaponry being generated from within matched recent terrorist incidents that had been linked to the elusive man...which meant it was time for the PSB to get involved.

The operation had to be carefully executed with extreme caution, and yet, as Akane entered through a side door of one of the abandoned factories along with Ginoza and the two Enforcers, she was surprised to find that there appeared to be no one inside. The place was dark, desolate, and quiet...they ventured forward gradually, weapons drawn. At the very least, she had expected Makishima's lackeys. She doubted that the man himself would make an appearance, but there should have been people running the operation that they were trying to shut down...

_Something doesn't feel right._

It was as the four of them edged cautiously into the center of the facility, surrounded by lifeless machinery and conveyer belts, that the overhead lights suddenly flared, temporarily blinding them all as they flickered to life across the length of the ceiling.

“Well, well, well. I'm touched to have so many gather in my honor.”

Raising the hand that wasn't gripping her Dominator to shield her eyes, Akane squinted up at the second-floor platform that ran around the perimeter of the factory...her vision had yet to adjust, but she could just about make out a hazy figure standing up there, and a shock of white hair.

“Welcome, officers...I encourage you all to make yourselves comfortable, as you'll find that you won't be able to leave this place any time soon.”

 

 


	4. Capture

Standing back-to-back with her colleagues, Akane found herself at a stalemate. They had miscalculated – grievously. It was obvious now that the entire thing had been a setup, because as always, Makishima was one step ahead. Around them, the emergency lockdown mechanics from within the factory had been triggered, sealing the exits and passageways and trapping the four of them in the central area over which Makishima himself surveyed them from the second floor railing. Along the upper perimeter, Kagari and Masaoka had glimpsed others, too, their identities obscured by gas masks, but they were making themselves scarce...and for good reason. All the PSB officers still had their Dominators.

Makishima seemed unperturbed, however, as he looked down upon them, and despite the fact that she already knew what would happen, Akane aimed her weapon at him anyway.

“I'm almost disappointed,” he called down to them. “I prefer chess, but what you've given me is a game of checkers. A hop and a skip and it's the end of the line...but I suppose it was bound to come to this eventually.”

“Do not engage!” Ginoza snapped, though his voice was wrought with bitterness...Akane could tell from his tone that he blamed himself for their predicament. “Focus on an escape route.”

“There isn't one, where you are,” Makishima dismissed from above. “It wouldn't be a very good trap, if there were.”

“Yeah, bite me!” Kagari retorted, earning a sharp glare from Ginoza. “You shouldn't have showed your face around here, trust me!”

The man chuckled in response and Akane ducked her head a little, eyes still darting around the area. Surely a mechanism of some sort, or an emergency switch that would shut off the lockdown...something. Anything. She didn't want to hang around to find out why Makishima wanted them confined to the room like rats in a cage, appreciating the fact that Kagari was (somewhat unintentionally) buying them some time with his protests.

It was short-lived, however, and her attention was drawn back to the tyrant standing above them as he held up a gas mask of his own.

“The human body is a curious thing,” he lamented. “Susceptible to so many things...solids, liquids, gasses; almost anything can be used against it, even the things that are intended to be beneficial. Too much, or too little, and even the most benevolent of resources can become deadly.”

Akane lowered her useless Dominator, drawing herself up in what she hoped was a defiant manner to address him.

“So that's your purpose for luring us here?” she demanded. “Just...to kill us? How un-creative for someone like you.”

Makishima smiled slightly.

“It appears that way,” he mused. “But at the same time...I so often find that you are the ones who attempt to stifle my creativity. If I were to find a thorn in my side, why would I not remove it? Or should I say...you are the hands and feet of Sibyl, the ultimate dampener of all things creative. A dictator's reach can only stretch so far without the use of his limbs.”

He gestured around them. “Can you at least appreciate the irony? These lockdown mechanics were installed as emergency safety measures in the event that factory conditions became...unsafe. Intended to keep the results of any chemical spills, equipment malfunctions, and the like, contained, while shielding those on the outside. But it seems...you all find yourselves on the inside, instead. An unfortunate predicament indeed, what with the ventilation system full to bursting with arsenic-based gas compounds just waiting to be unleashed.”

Akane pressed further into Ginoza's back, gripping the weapon at her side and holding the man's gaze defiantly in spite of the fact that her pulse was racing. She could feel the tension in her colleagues, too, and yet...there wasn't a thing she could think to do.

“Like hell you'll get away with something like this,” Masaoka grunted. “You think getting rid of us is gonna take care of all your problems? Typical for your generation, with the quick fixes.”

“Prattle on with your last breaths if you wish,” Makishima smiled, lifting his gas mask again. “A man's only hope is that his final words are good ones-,”

A shot rang out across the high walls of the factory, and Akane's eyes widened as Makishima lashed out to grab his hand, the mask falling from his grip onto the ground floor far below. For a moment, she couldn't imagine what had happened, the noise still echoing inside her head, but she heard Ginoza speak beside her.

“Kougami...”

Taken aback, Akane followed Gino's gaze up to the other side of the second floor railing behind them, short-lived relief flooding her before she realized that the Enforcer was barely standing. Kougami had never struck her as one particularly concerned with his appearance, but his suit was even more disheveled than usual, his messy hair clinging slightly to his stark-white features as he wavered where he stood, knees shaking slightly in an effort to keep himself upright. He held the early-millennium revolver steady across the divide at Makishima's head, but his aim was off in his current state...judging by the look in his hazy eyes, the bullet that had left his weapon was clearly meant as a fatal one.

“Kougami!” Akane called, anxious. He looked as though he were about to collapse, and if he would just throw the revolver down to her, she could...

To her surprise, Makishima looked just as taken aback as she felt, though it was only for a moment before he recovered himself, gripping his bloodied hand.

“Well, well...I never expected to find _you_ on your feet,” he mused as he looked Kougami up and down, and Akane frowned suddenly at the comment. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Kougami!” Ginoza interrupted. “They're about to release an airborne hazard through the ventilation system...”

Not a moment later, there was a resounding hiss of releasing pressure as an opaque gas began to stream into the surrounding area through the air ducts...Kougami brought part of his coat up to cover his mouth and nose and took off in a sprint around the perimeter of the second-floor walkway, in hot pursuit of Makishima as the white-haired man, too, fled the vicinity in light of the incoming gas.

The four officers trapped down below brought their jackets up to their faces as well, though there was little else they could do for the time being.

“We're sitting ducks,” Kagari muttered vehemently.  
Masaoka shook his head. “Give Ko a minute, huh? He'll find a way to either shut it off or disable the lockdown system...”

 

Makishima was faster than Kougami had anticipated, but he could still hear his prey's footsteps echoing up ahead. The distance between them made his blood boil, but he knew he had to find a way to help the others before he pursued the other man too deeply into the factory warehouses...gun still clasped in both hands, he rounded another corner in time to see a flash of white hair before it disappeared from view.

_Damn it-!_

He lunged forward in an effort to stay on Makishima's trail, but then slumped back against the wall again, his breathing ragged. The corridor up ahead blurred and then doubled, and Kougami tugged absently on the unbuttoned collar of his shirt, the material clinging to his heated skin. The fever was making him dizzy, his limbs refused to cooperate, and his stomach was killing him...but the majority of Division 1 was still trapped in the main area of the factory and running out of air. Kougami pushed away from the wall again and stumbled down the corridor, following the sounds of Makishima's fading footsteps. He passed by a sealed door labeled “Control Room” and did a double-take...with his wrist comm tech, it didn't take long to override the security and force his way inside. Upon the wall of camera monitors within, he could see a smokey image of the other PSB officers on one of the screens, and slammed his fist down onto the override for the lockdown. A few moments later, he saw the exits slide open again on the same monitor to free the rest and turned on his heel, pausing briefly to catch his breath before taking off in pursuit of Makishima once more.

_Whe_ _re did you go?_

He hastened down the hallway, checking into the row of offices situated there, then bolted around the next turn...a foot colliding with his head so hard that for a moment or so, he could only see stars. His body and the gun skidded across the polished floor in opposite directions, and felt his back hit something hard, gritting his teeth for a few moments as he waited for his vision to clear. The first thing that came back into focus was the same foot swinging up to kick him while he was down...he managed to raise his arms to partially block the blow at the last moment, sweeping his own leg under Makishima's to trip him up. The white-haired man jumped backwards, giving Kougami enough time to stagger to his feet, his breathing ragged with the pounding of his head. The discomfort did little to deter his bloodlust, however, and he lunged at Makishima...the two of them grappled for a time before Kougami finally managed to throw all his weight into slamming the other up against the wall. Makishima coughed, grinning at him, and knocked him away...Kougami wavered, but then moved forward and struck the other man hard across the face, sending him reeling.

“Heh...so you've still got some fight in you.”

Rubbing his jaw, Makishima struck out in retaliation...Kougami blocked, but the impact had him stumbling slightly on already-shaky legs, and Makishima hit him hard in the stomach as a result.

“Sorry,” he mused as the man grunted and slumped. “Are you a little tender there?”

Kougami's blazing eyes narrowed, wavering for a moment until Makishima got close enough for him to lash out, then jamming his elbow in an uppercut to the man's angled chin and then kicking him to the ground. Makishima coughed, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, then grabbing Kougami's arm and wrenching it behind his back so that he could slam the Enforcer up against the same wall he'd been pinned against himself just moments before.

“You humor me,” he murmured against Kougami's ear. “You shouldn't even be standing.”

“Yeah, so what did you do to me?” Kougami relented, his voice a low growl as Makishima twisted his arm. “I take it it's your fault that I feel like shit...”

Makishima yanked him away from the wall long enough to spin him around to face one another before slamming him up against it again. Kougami felt his eyes closing for a moment against his will, his vision tunneling, and shook his head to clear it. Makishima placed a hand to the side of the Enforcer's feverish cheek, smirking as he jerked immediately away from the touch.

“Nothing that has had much of an impact on your reflexes, clearly,” he murmured. “Just...a little experiment, is all.”

His wrists pinned to the wall in Makishima's grasp, Kougami jerked a little in vain attempt to free himself.

“What kind of 'experiment'? How long do I have?”

Fair eyebrows lifted in mock-surprise, and Makishima shook his head. “How _long_? Do you really think that I would do that...kill you, in such a mundane fashion? And you, of all people?”

Bitterly aware that most of what was keeping him on his feet was Makishima's grip, Kougami held his glare fiercely. “So then what?”

“I just...needed to keep you out of the way for a little while, that's all.” Makishima chuckled. “Though I have to admit, I underestimated your bull-headed nature. In this great orchestration, your fellow agents are the most inconsiderate of audience members. I expect your opposition, and I welcome it...but for the rest of them...” He shook his head. “Chess is a two-player game, Shinya Kougami.”

Kougami lashed out as Makishima released one of his wrists in favor of moving his hand down to the Enforcer's side, but before he knew it, he was being slammed up against the wall again and hit in the stomach.

“Ahh...”

Makishima smirked, releasing the other man and allowing him to slide down the wall to the floor with his arms wrapped around his middle.

“The contagion entered your system a few weeks prior...I watched you as you went with your precious coworkers to Club XOXO downtown...”

Kougami clenched his teeth, the name conjuring the memory of a case they had been investigating a few weeks prior...afterwards, they had stopped for drinks at the club. It had been a day or two later that he'd first started to feel unwell...

“So you _were_ there,” he muttered. He'd told Ginoza that the case had Makishima's stench all over it, but the Inspector hadn't believed him.

“The concoction is something of my own creation...I had someone slip it into your drink, yet as I'm sure you realize now, it is completely undetectable. And through such an innocent means...even someone as shrewd and discerning as yourself had no idea, so how could anyone else?”

Kougami's eyes narrowed tiredly. “...Anyone else?”

Makishima kicked him hard onto his back, his foot pressing carefully, warningly into the Enforcer's stomach to deter him from trying to move.

“Anyone else, everyone else. Sibyl's blind, deaf followers. They have been fed nothing but lies their entire lives, so much so that they cannot taste the truth. And so...they will be fed another lie; a lie that the food and drink that is provided to them on a daily basis, that they put their trust in so unquestioningly, is no longer safe. Even the blind can see an entire population falling ill. And once they finally start to question the resources that Sibyl provides...at last, they will open their eyes and start to question Sibyl as well...”

Kougami closed pale, shaky hands around Makishima's ankle to try and force his foot off his stomach, but he didn't have the energy for it, his head arching backwards as Makishima pressed the heel of his foot deeper into his belly in retaliation.

“You've gotten a little soft,” the man observed, his grin shark-like as he leaned his weight into Kougami to look down at him. “Hm. Can you believe it, Kougami? I've finally caught you. Perhaps this will be fun after all.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

The crime scene was mostly devoid of evidence...with the rest of the PSB spread out across the facility to gather data and evidence for the report, Akane stood with building frustration in the midst of the empty room, clutching her wrist. The GPS on her comm device flashed insistently, informing her that Kougami was mere feet away from her...but of course, he wasn't. Neither he nor Makishima were anywhere to be found, and yet the tracker said otherwise.

Her grip tightened around his wrist comm, fiddling absently with the broken clasp...it only made sense that it had been discarded, of course. The room showed signs of a struggle, and Akane had been the one to discover Kougami's tracker on the floor in a corner...leaving no way for them to follow Makishima's movements.

She sensed Ginoza appear at her side, but she didn't lift her head even as a hand came to settle on her shoulder.

“We've gathered all the evidence we can. It's time to head back to the lab to get it processed...we can't coordinate a search for Kougami from here.”

Akane looked down at the wrist comm she was holding, discontent with the proposal but unable to come up with a better one.

“...All right,” she said stiffly, her tone reluctant. “Let's go.”

 

When Kougami first came to, it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the poor light...joints stiff, it was his first instinct to move, yet he found he couldn't. He felt the vaguely familiar sensation of rough bindings graze against various parts of his body as he twisted...giving a brief shake of his head to clear it, he looked down to find himself confined to an old chair, his hands bound behind it and his torso wrapped tightly against it. With his ankles tied to the legs, there was little he could do to free himself, shaking his head roughly again to keep himself conscious.

Makishima was nowhere in sight, at least for the time being, but his surroundings were just what he'd expect of the man; aside from the chair he was in, the room around him was well-furnished, clean, yet not particularly modern. The walls boasted various antiques, the furniture reminiscent of the 19th century, and and the unmistakeable scent of page glue and pulp gave away the books lining the shelves behind him. Everything was sleek, polished...

Eyes narrowing at the sound of the door on the far side of the room being unlocked, Kougami held the gaze of the man who entered defiantly, pulling at the bindings on his wrists again.

“Tch...woke up, did you?”

The sharp features and slicked back hair held a vague sense of familiarity about them...Kougami recognized the man as one of Makishima's main accomplices, at least if the PSB's most recent research was anything to go by, and said nothing in return, his expression sour.

“So I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on you,” the man continued, rolling his neck. “Dunno what it is I did to end up with babysitting duty. To tell you the truth, I had half a mind to just let you go.”

Kougami watched him dryly.

“Yep, that's right. I'm not gonna. But if this is the hand I've been dealt...well...” He leaned down so that he was eye-level with the Enforcer. “I've always wanted to beat the shit outta somebody from the MWPSB.”

He held Kougami's gaze for a time, studying his face closely...but then merely chuckled and straightened up again.

“It's true, you are a lot like him,” he surmised. “Of all things, you just look disappointed. Like you were expecting something more, considering your circumstances. After all, if he went through the trouble of bringing you all the way here just to get your face kicked in, well...he wouldn't be the person you thought he was, huh?”

He chuckled, then merely turned away, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“Well, don't fret; he'll be back soon. So you sit there and enjoy scowling for the time being 'til he arrives. If you'll excuse me...I was just getting to the good part of my book.”

Subtly, Kougami twisted against his bindings again, but someone had done a thorough job of ensuring he wouldn't be able to move until they wanted him to. Patience had never been one of his strong suits, but in his current state, he supposed all he would be able to do was wait. He closed his eyes as his stomach groaned unexpectedly beneath the vice-like binds, finding that he felt no better than he had before he'd lost consciousness. Part of him still felt like Makishima's foot was embedded in his gut, and he narrowed his eyes again as the man sitting nearby looked up again with a scoff.

“What's the matter, _tummy troubles_?” he mocked.

Kougami rolled his shoulders and settled back to continue surveying his surroundings, searching for anything he might somehow be able to use to his advantage...it didn't look good, however.

_Come on, Tsunemori. You've got everything you need...figure it out._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, audience participation time. What's Makishima going to do?


End file.
